Okkervil River

I just filed a (glowing) review of last night’s Wilco show at the Mountain Winery, which should be up online shortly and in print in Sunday’s paper. The boys from Chicago were in fine form on songs old and new, and Jeff Tweedy amusingly berated a patron up-front all night for daring to ask for the vocals to be turned up. All ended well with a birthday cake for an Australian roadie and Tweedy twirling his microphone (and dropping it) and goofily leading the audience in half-hearted hand waving.

Anyway, for those of you who care about such things, here’s the set list:

I briefly considered sticking with this band on Sixth Street after striking out in so many clubs Friday night.

WELL THE SXSW GODS HAD IT IN FOR ME. Wednesday and Thursday were just too darn great. Their payback: a Friday night wandering fruitlessly in search of great bands.

That’s just how SXSW is. For every great show I saw on the first two days, there were two others I was missing at the same time. So of course when the time came on Friday that some of my carefully hand-selected groups turned out to be duds, I could find no backups.

But it wasn’t because I didn’t try.

After opening well with a short set by the High Dials, a jangly pop Montreal band on the bill at Little Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage showcase, I went off in search of a New York band called Alberta Cross. Their mp3 sounded like an updated version of Crazy Horse, and in the first few minutes, they seemed like they were going to deliver. But the songs went nowhere and the singer’s voice was a bit grating.Continue Reading →

Goldfrapp (5:55 p.m. Saturday): Legend has it that Alison Goldfrapp was “discovered” while milking a cow and yodeling simultaneously onstage. That story sounds too good to be true. Something that needs no further confirmation, however, is that Goldfrapp is one of the most striking vocalists in the electro-music game. (J.H.)Continue Reading →

Just one year old and, yet, the Treasure Island Music Festival is no longer the new kid on the block. A whole new batch of festivals have popped up in 2008, both in the Bay Area and beyond, to vie for concert-goersâ€™ dollars.

The organizers behind Treasure Island _ Berkeley-based promoter Another Planet Entertainment in collaboration with the same folks that host the annual Noise Pop festival _ hope that this increasingly competitive market place wonâ€™t have much of a negative impact on their event. They are still expecting good crowds to turn out when the festival makes its sophomore showing on the picturesque island in the Bay on Saturday and Sunday.Continue Reading →